in his room Vjosa Osmani His interviews at the presidential palace in Pristina are often framed by gold sills, a color quite present there, photographs of the six presidents he has Kosovo from unilateral declaration of independence, this is the 17th February 15th anniversary. Firstly Ibrahim Rugova, the intellectual leader who promoted a pacifist separation, and the last one is precisely Osmani. But just before that Hashim ThaciA sinister Kosovo Albanian guerrilla fighter remembered by the world three years ago when he was accused of war crimes during the 1998-1999 Kosovo Albanian uprising against Serbia by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. “I don’t really like being there. But I didn’t touch anything. I just put my picture up,” the President explains with a grunt.
Osmanireappointed as president in 2021, briefly replacing Thaçi after his resignation; At 40, he was one of the most voted politicians in Kosovo’s short history, marking a turning point for the older generation who fought the war. Osmani, who studied Law at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), is well aware of this, as well as that due to the struggle between the West and the West, his small country weighs much more than its size. Russianeighbor’s opportunity ally Serbian and that it does not recognize Kosovo as a country. Perhaps that is why, as soon as this interview begins, Moscow sneaks in several times and points with open hostility to Serbia, a country in which EU-led negotiations seem provocative, impossible, brutal and far from compromise. final solution.
Declaration of independence 15 years ago. Serbia, Russia and the five member states of the European Union (EU) do not recognize Kosovo.
I wouldn’t put Russia and Serbia in the same group as the five EU countries. Russia and Serbia do not recognize Kosovo because it has hegemonic and imperialist ideas. Serbia wants to see us, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and other countries as temporary states and go back to the 1990s with territorial claims. As for the five countries that do not recognize Kosovo, I believe we are on the right track and a solution will be found. Kosovo’s independence is an irreversible fact, so we are here to remain an independent and sovereign country, it is only a matter of time how quickly some countries formalize their decision to recognize us.
Are you in favor of the unification of Kosovo with Albania?
We have made sacrifices and worked for an independent and sovereign Kosovo, and my work will continue to be devoted solely to an independent and sovereign Kosovo. The declaration of independence and the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is the beginning and the end of everything I do.
The war was over, but there was no fire. Is there a new escalation danger?
There was only one party firing in the 90s, and now there is only one party firing, and that is Serbia. Serbia is the only source of instability in the Western Balkans. Serving the interests of Serbia (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Russia, it destabilizes the Western Balkans, enabling us to fight against values-based systems like the European Union and NATO. Because Russia knows that if the Western Balkans destabilizes there can be no united, free and peaceful Europe, and historically it has been in its interest.
Is the war in Ukraine putting pressure on this region?
Russia is putting pressure on Serbia. Since February 24, efforts by Russia and Serbia to destabilize the region have increased.
Kosovo has a large US military base, is Washington its best ally?
Washington is the most important and strategic ally of the Republic of Kosovo, and we consider this alliance necessary to preserve the peace and security we have achieved and to defend our freedom and independence. Of course, in addition to Washington, there are many European and non-European countries, democracies from around the world, who have come together in Kosovo to defend fundamental freedoms against tyranny and genocide. I believe that the success of Kosovo is the greatest achievement of the foreign policy of these democracies, of the Western democracies, and should be seen as such today. That’s why Putin hates him, he hates Kosovo’s success. So yes, Washington is our existential ally.
Do you trust Europe?
If we didn’t trust Europe, we wouldn’t be trying so hard to join the rest of the European nations. Sometimes I think that some of the methods they have chosen against Serbia are not right because they have been proven to be wrong historically. For example, I disagree with the active appeasement policy of many, if not all, of the European Union towards Serbia, because appeasement against autocrats has proven to bring more destruction, not more peace. or stability.
There are many rumors about the dialogue with Serbia.
The process never stopped. There is now so-called “route diplomacy” in which negotiators travel sometimes to Pristina, sometimes to Belgrade, and negotiate separately with each other.